Under New Management
by brokenroots
Summary: Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.
1. New Regime

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,162  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I am still doing my processing of the latest episode, and this is probably my last fic for that. It's different from my usual, shorter scenes and faster pace, but this is the way it needed to be told and the way I needed to write it.

* * *

><p><strong>New Regime<strong>

"Listen up," Nico began, walking into the front of the noisy room. The players—even TK, who was horsing around with Shane Givens—stopped and the room fell into a tense silence. Dani wasn't sure what she was doing here, but something big was up, and they all knew it. Nico looked around the room slowly. "In a few hours, all of the paperwork will have been processed, and it will become official. The Hawks will no longer be owned by Marshall Pittman."

Dani frowned. She supposed this happened a lot, selling teams. They were just another business to rich people like Pittman. These weren't men with lives, with families; they were moneymakers. Pawns in the big man's game. She shouldn't be surprised, but she _was _angry. She wasn't the only one. The whole room was starting to talk again, low grumblings from everyone.

"Furthermore, when the transfer of power is complete, my association with this team is finished," Nico went on, and Dani stared at him in disbelief. _What? This job is Nico's life. _"Unfortunately, it will not be possible for me to continue in the role that I have been. My associate, Xeno, will be taking over, and from now on, you may call upon him."

Nico turned and walked to the back of the room, heading for the doors. The players had been murmuring among themselves, but TK was the first to react. "What the hell, Nico? They can't fire you. Don't they know who you are? You're the man behind the man."

Nico shook his head. "I wasn't fired, Terrence. I simply choose not to be a part of the new regime."

"New Regina? What are you talking about, Nico? You don't have a life outside the Hawks."

"Then perhaps it is time I found one," Nico said, walking out the door. Dani watched him leave, still frowning. TK started to pace, shouting insults at Nico's back.

Matt touched her shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay. Ownership of teams changes a lot. We might have a bit of a rough transition, but it'll work out."

"Without Nico?"

Matt shrugged. "He made his choice."

_Yeah, _Dani agreed, _but why?_

* * *

><p>"Nico!"<p>

He heard Gabriella's voice behind him and turned around reluctantly. He'd hoped to make his exit as quiet as possible. It was only right to let the team know of the change—not just in ownership but in the head of their security—but he had not wanted to do so for exactly this reason. He did not want to see her.

"Yes?"

"What the hell was that? You can't just leave."

"Actually, I can. I have no contract with the Hawks or any other part of Pittman Industries. I am not even officially the head of security, not on paper. I have nothing legally binding me to this position, nor am I truly required to give you two weeks notice."

She reached out to touch him, but he moved out of her reach. "I did this for us. Can't you imagine how good this will be, the two of us, here, together?"

"No. Because I'm done. I told you that before you went after the team. Congratulations. You won. You got what you wanted."

She frowned. He thought perhaps she should have been an actress. She had a particular talent for it. She'd fooled him for far too long. "Not if you leave."

"I drew a line in the sand. You didn't care who you crossed or how many bodies fell as you went after what you really wanted. The Hawks have always been special to Marshall. You didn't just do this for the money, though I'm sure that figure makes your cold heart dance with delight every time you see it. No, you did it to hurt him, and perhaps he even deserved it. But I told you where I stood, and you crossed the line anyway."

"Nico—"

He shook his head again. "Save it. We're done. We were done twenty years ago. It just took me this long to realize it."

He walked away for good then, trying not to think about what he was going to do after he left those doors for the last time.

* * *

><p>"I swear, Doctor D, I cannot work for that bitch one more minute," TK said angrily, pacing around Dani's office. She was used to this rant, and not just from TK. The whole team was having a hard time adjusting to the change in owners, and no one seemed to care for the former Mrs. Pittman much. No one even called her by name. It was just "that bitch."<p>

Dani had had plenty of run-ins with the woman herself, and she knew that her own job was on the chopping block. Even if their strained interactions weren't enough to know that the new owner didn't think much of her job and didn't like another woman around the team—or around one trainer, in particular—"that bitch" had also told Dani that her services would probably not be required for much longer.

"I understand this is difficult—"

"Man, I wish I was like Nico. I wish I'd known what he knew and got my ass transferred out of here before she took over. She is _killing _me. Killing the whole damn team," TK muttered, sitting down on the couch with a moan. He covered his face. "There's got to be rules or something against what she's doing."

Dani sighed. "According to Coach Parnell and Matt, there isn't."

"What about you, Doctor D? Why aren't you stepping up, huh?" TK asked, and she started to explain, but TK didn't let her finish. "Come on, even if you don't think what she's doing to us is crap, you gotta know she's trying to move in on your man."

"TK, she already fired me. There's nothing I can do besides be here for you and the team to talk to as long as you need me."

TK cursed loudly. "That's it. I'm calling my agent. I want a trade. I'm not putting up with this bullshit anymore."

Well, Dani thought unhappily, that made _six. _And that was just from today.

* * *

><p>"Damn it," Matt yelled, shoving a bunch of papers off his desk and throwing the Hawks bobble head from his desk at the wall. Dani stopped, lowering her hand from the door. No point in knocking now.<p>

"Matt?"

He looked over at her guiltily. "Sorry. Rough day. Rough week."

"More like rough month. For everyone," she said, walking around the mess on his floor to take the nearest seat. "Today's total is six."

"Six?"

"Players who've told me they want a trade."

Matt winced. "Damn it. This is getting out of hand. At the rate we're going, we won't have a player left to start next fall. Hell, I can't even set up a practice with this. Can't you talk to one of them, see if they'll... persuade the others to stay?"

Dani almost laughed, except it wasn't funny. "I was here to ask _you _that. Besides, I don't know who to ask. TK was one of the last holdouts, and he wants out now."

Matt sat down and reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, taking out a bottle and two glasses. She winced. That bottle had been full before the Hawks changed owners, but now it had been replaced at least twice. "Doesn't she have _any _idea what's she's doing to this team? We won the playoffs last season, and she's screwing that winning team over."

"I tried to ask her what she was hoping to achieve, and I was told that she'd start by getting rid of nosy little therapists who belonged in the cheerleader uniform if they were going to whore themselves out."

Matt choked on the drink he was taking. "What?"

"I gather she thinks very little of my profession and even less of me," Dani answered. She shrugged. "I don't care what she thinks of me, but I won't be in a position to help anyone soon."

Matt finished the shot and poured another, shaking his head. "You know, I never realized just how much Nico did around here. You can bet that if he'd stuck around, we wouldn't be in this mess. He'd have found a way to keep Coach Parnell, he'd talk or intimidate the players into staying, and none of us would have known he did a damn thing because I swear, nothing gets done around here without him. The assistant coaches are too busy fighting over Parnell's spot to pay attention to the every day details like laundry and equipment—hell, they don't even know _how _to schedule or order that stuff. Apparently Nico did that, too. I've had complaints about things going missing from the lockers, and three fights broke out, plus you know what happened at the club last week. Xeno is in over his head."

"I know. I talked to him. He's quitting."

Matt groaned. "How the hell did this fall apart so fast?"

"TK's theory is that Nico knew exactly what would happen and that's why he left."

"You don't agree?"

Dani took a deep breath. "I find it hard to believe that a man who did so much for the Hawks would just walk away when things were tough. There's got to be some reason why he was unwilling to work for her."

"Which just means that unless we get rid of her, we're all screwed."

* * *

><p>"You are not an easy man to find."<p>

Nico stopped, looking behind him at the unexpected voice. The statement was true—she never should have been able to find him. He took in the fatigue, the way every part of her seemed to drag and the bags under her eyes and shook his head. "If I was, I wouldn't be me, Dr. Santino."

She smiled slightly at that. "Yeah, that's true."

"Since I can guess that this is not a social call, I will spare you the trouble of asking. I'm not coming back. Nor will I assist with anything to do with the New York Hawks. I was clear on that."

"Would you at least hear me out first?" Santino asked, her eyes pleading with him. He did not want to disappoint her, but he knew that he could not realistically give her what she wanted. He could not be involved in anything that Gabriella was a part of. That was all too clear to him. "I can't believe that you would just walk away. You have to know what's happening to the team."

"What team?"

She laughed bitterly. "Exactly. You _do _know, don't you?"

"No matter what knowledge I may or may not have, I cannot help you."

"Why not, Nico? You told TK it was your choice to leave. You weren't lying, were you? If it was your choice, then why can't you come back?"

Nico put his hands in his pockets. "When you draw a line in the sand, you have to keep to it or it was never worth drawing in the first place."

Santino took a deep breath. "What exactly happened between you and Mrs. Pittman?"

"I have no reason to discuss that with you."

"If you want me to leave you alone, then I think you'd better tell me," Santino began. He just looked at her, and she winced as comprehension dawned on her. "Nico—"

"You have your answer. You can go," he told her. When she didn't move, he shook his head. "You cannot change my mind about this. It's not just a matter of principle, though I would hardly think you'd want me to compromise this one after doing so with so many others. The plain truth of it is that I cannot trust myself around her. I'm weak to her. I _want _to believe her. So you see, I cannot help you. Or the team."

Santino sighed. "You spent a very long time making yourself invaluable to the team. No one knows what to do without you."

"If the team falls apart, then... she doesn't win. And I can't let her win. If I go back, then she gets to think that what she did was nothing," Nico began. He saw the look on Santino's face and sighed. "Don't look at me like that. It's not like I want the team or anyone else to be collateral damage. _She _chose that, not me. I made it very clear where I stood. Do not ask me to go back on that... because I'm afraid that I will."


	2. New Plan

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,617  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I realized after a certain point that part of my idea was extremely far-fetched, but I think if there's anyone who could pull it off... It's these people working together. :)

* * *

><p><strong>New Plan<strong>

"You can't go somewhere else."

"Yo, chicklet. You're not supposed to be here," TK said, frowning as the Santino boy barged into his apartment. This was his domain, his kingdom, and no one entered here uninvited. Well, unless they were a super hot woman or a scary guy who went around in black and was probably a vampire, but that dude hadn't been around in a while. That just left the hot women, but he was down to one of them these days.

If she was still talking to him. He'd lost his temper over the super bitch, said a bunch of crap that he shouldn't have, and Vivica hadn't returned his calls for a while. Then again, he wasn't sure that he shouldn't be pissed at _her _for that article about the Hawks. _Headed for Disaster. New Management, No Team. _He knew it was true, but she didn't need to write about his business like that.

"I'm not kidding, TK. You can't let yourself be traded."

"Look, kid, I like you. I like New York. I love the Hawks. I love my kingdom," TK said, opening his arms to show off his apartment. "Thing is, though, dog, I can't stay. None of us can. The whole thing's gone to hell—heck—and we can't play like this."

The boy sighed. "What about your therapy? With Mom? You tried someone else, right? And it didn't work. What if you go somewhere and you can't work with the person there?"

"Aw, how sweet, you're worried about me," TK teased, and Jaybird glared at him. He shrugged. "I'm a big kid. I'll make it on my own. You might want to worry about your moms. Super Bitch dissed her big time."

"What?"

"The new owner? Super Bitch? She fired your mom."

"What? What are we going to do?" Jaybird demanded. TK just looked at him. "Come on, don't you have _any _ideas? Besides getting traded and ruining the team?"

TK thought for a moment. "Your moms, she did all she could. Mattie D... He did his part, I guess. There's only one man I know who could fix this, and he's long gone, little man."

Jaybird frowned. "Who?"

TK shrugged. "My man Nico would have been able to do something about it, but he abandoned us, yo, and he ain't coming back. Forget that. There's nothing to be done. We'll just party until they ship me off to cold-ass Minnesota, right?"

* * *

><p>"Okay," Dani began after one of the longest and most agonizing silences of her life—right up there with telling Ray she was pregnant, "what if you help but you don't help Mrs. Pittman? In fact, you'd be working against her."<p>

Nico frowned at her. "I don't think it's wise for me to be involved at all."

She didn't like the idea of hurting him more because she could tell how hard this was for him—nothing less would have made him turn his back on the Hawks. The worst part was how badly this had shaken his faith in himself. He'd said far too much, revealed more than the Nico Dani had known would reveal, and it just showed his distress. He was coming apart under this—the guilt and self-loathing were all too plain to see. He wasn't wearing one of his suits, his hair hadn't been styled in days, and she had to wonder about those clothes.

"You said you didn't want the team to be collateral damage in this standoff between you and her. Then prove it. Help the team survive without helping her," Dani said, and Nico's expression darkened further. "Come on, Nico. You have the contacts, and you know her well enough to know how much she'd sell out for. Find the Hawks a new owner. The team can work on the damage when she is gone, but if something isn't done soon, she'll destroy each and every man on that team. I've already seen it happening. And, by the way, Xeno quit. Not that you probably didn't already know that, but... it needed to be said. You left the team in one hell of a mess. Is that really how you want to win?"

"I don't—It is not about winning. Not in the sense most people usually mean it. I have to win this because if I don't, I lose all self-respect," he said, shaking his head. "You of all people have to know what this means to me."

"I do," she agreed. She did. She didn't like the way he looked or sounded. This shell of Nico was not the man she'd worked with and slowly come to see as a friend. That bitch had come along and ripped him apart. "I just don't think you have to win by staying completely removed. Hell, stick it to the bitch, Nico. She has cost you everything—I know leaving was your choice, but that doesn't mean it didn't cost you. Make her pay. Take the Hawks back from her. I think you're the man who can do it. In fact, you're probably the only one who could."

Nico looked away for a moment. "The type of money you're talking means a limited number of people would be able to make the investment, most of whom would be no better than her."

Dani sighed. "Then pick the lesser of all the evils."

"The lesser of all the evils already lost the war," Nico said. He started walking, and she ran a little to catch up with him. "Pittman no longer has the free resources to buy back the team, or he would have done so already. She won't sell unless she's getting more than she 'paid' for the Hawks, and no one will be willing to pay that after what she's done to the team."

"If we could get the players to stop the trades and keep the team together?"

Nico stopped abruptly. "Take that a step further."

"What?"

"Get the _players _to buy back the team."

Dani's mouth dropped open, and then she wrapped her arms around him. He grunted in surprise and tensed when she kissed his cheek. "You are a _genius. _A genius."

"It may not be possible," he said, pulling back and fidgeting uncomfortably. "Players spend money like there is no tomorrow. Very few of them have any capital saved at all. And you'd have to get a significant number of them to agree to stay first, then get them to risk their money in buying back a team that everyone would consider a poor investment at this point. Still, if you want best case scenario, that's it."

"I still think you're brilliant," Dani told him. She shouldn't have gone so far with the hug or worse, the kiss on the cheek, but he had taken such a weight off her shoulders and found a solution so perfect if they could make it work that she had gotten caught up in the moment. Actually, it was a relief just _talking _to Nico again. "You're going to start taking my calls again now, right?"

Nico shook his head. "You won't be able to call me until I get a new number. And a new phone."

"What? Why?"

"I refused to take her calls and threw my phone off the bridge. I left the service connected because I knew she'd keep calling. Let everyone think that's still the number I'm using but that I'm not talking to anyone."

"You—Nico Careles—threw away your phone?" Dani asked, shocked. "Wow. It's like a whole new you."

He made a derisive noise. "New, but hardly improved. I'll let you know the new number. Do not give it to anyone else. Even with as many people as she's alienated, she's got enough money to make some of them at least marginally loyal to her."

"This cloak and dagger thing could get to be fun." Nico gave Dani a look at the words. She shrugged. "Sorry. This is all kind of new for me. I feel like going out and dressing all in black and working on a maniacal laugh."

"I thought you already had one of those."

* * *

><p>TK shook his head in irritation as he went to open the door. The pounding was just obnoxious. Unnecessary. He wasn't having a party in the kingdom—not right now. No girls. Just a friend, and while it was past that one's curfew, TK wasn't about to kick him out, not after he'd freaked over the whole Doctor D being fired thing. He didn't want to know what the drama queen would do when she found out about that.<p>

He opened the door. "Doctor D? What're you doing here?"

"Oh, TK, I know it's late, but I didn't really think this could wait. Oh, it's so simple that it's brilliant, and I didn't see it at all, but it's the perfect solution for everyone if we can pull it off. Of course, it's going to take teamwork," she stopped and started laughing uncontrollably, and TK wondered what the hell the woman had been drinking. She had to be high or drunk or something. No one was in that good of mood these days. "Sorry. It's just—what is Ray Jay doing here?"

"He came to talk me out of leaving, and I might have let the wrong thing slip over what Super Bitch did, and... Well, he freaked, then kind of wore himself out. You can take him home. He's not hurt, and I swear he didn't do anything. He's just worried about me."

She sighed. "I am, too."

"You seemed happy a minute ago."

"Oh. I am. Mostly. I may have a solution to our problem, one that does not involve you taking a trade," she began, still looking at her son on the couch. "But it's going to take everyone working together."

TK frowned. "I don't know about that. Most of the guys are trying to get the same spots in trade. It's downright ugly."

"But we might be able to make it so that no one has to take a trade."

"Really? And how is that?"

"By finding a new owner for the Hawks. Or should I say _owners," _she began, and he frowned again. The hell was she on? He wanted some of that. It made her a special sort of crazy. "TK, don't you get it? You and the other players might be able to come up with enough money to buy back your own team."

"Say what?"

"Think about it, TK. A team owned by the players. You are the ones out there getting pounded by three hundred pound linebackers. You're the ones playing the game. You'd know exactly what you're up against, and you wouldn't demand performance like the team was just like any other kind of business because it's not."

"It's a nice fantasy, Doc, but it'll never work. I don't got no three hundred million."

"But together you might."

"Right. Like we'd really put our money together like that. If people even have it. Most of the guys' agents take care of all the money, and there's no way in hell we'd let one of the other guys' agents handle the money for us."

She fought a smile, and TK swore she had to be tripping. Why the hell was she so damn happy? "And what if you had someone you all trusted to take care of all of that for you as long as you were willing to stop the trades and combine the money for the offer?"

TK laughed. "Ain't no such person. You'd be the closest thing, Doc, but the guys won't give it to you. Money and women don't mix unless they're hookers."

She made a face. "Okay, that is completely inappropriate, but I'm going to ignore that because I'm not talking about me. I need you to promise me you'll keep this to yourself, though, at least for now."

"What? And if not you, then who?"

"Nico."

TK looked at her, finding that hard to believe. "Nico ditched us."

"No, Nico had to take himself out of the equation because—for personal reasons. It was something that he had to do, but I spoke to him, and it was his idea to try and get the team to buy the team."

TK wasn't really sure about that. He didn't think much of Nico taking off on them and leaving them behind with Super Bitch, since he knew what was coming, but the man hadn't really steered them wrong before. "The big N's a pretty smart dude. If he thinks it'll work, we can give it a shot."

She nodded. "It's not like we have a lot to lose."

* * *

><p>"Matt?"<p>

"Dani? Do you have any idea what time it is? What are you doing here?"

"Using everyone's impression to our advantage right now," Dani said brightly, walking into his apartment. It had been a while since she'd been here, and she would take more time to go over the details, but she wanted this thing in motion as quickly as possible. The sooner they got "that bitch" off of her throne and out of the stadium, the better.

Was it wrong that Dani wanted it even more now that she knew what the woman had done to Nico? No, of course not. She was just being a good friend.

"Okay, what? You just woke me up, so... I'm a bit behind here."

"I have a solution to the team's problems, only we can't let its source be public knowledge, so... I came here in the middle of the night. People will think this is something else. That's not the important part. The important part is the solution."

"Sure... What is this solution, and where did you get it?"

"Nico."

"Nico?" Matt asked, incredulous. He shook his head. "Really? How did you get anything from Nico? He's not taking anyone's calls."

"Yeah, he doesn't have a phone because he threw it off a bridge."

"Nico threw his phone off a bridge," Matt repeated with a frown. "Are we talking about the same Nico here? He never left his phone behind. Ever."

"He's dealing with a personal crisis and wants his part in this kept secret. He did agree to help us against Mrs. Pittman, and his idea is... brilliant. I love it," she said, smiling. Matt didn't seem that pleased, and Dani knew if she had explained the situation with Mrs. Pittman and Nico that both TK and Matt would have understood Nico's actions, but she was not going to betray that confidence. He had been too ashamed to actually _tell _Dani, and the others didn't need to know about it. "He thinks the team should try and buy the team."

"What?"

"The players. It's possible they might have enough money to get Mrs. Pittman to sell. If she does, then we can get rid of her and have a real chance to remake the team and to make it into something even better than it was because it won't be a business but a _team."_

"The guys aren't going to go for that. They're already doing trades, remember?"

"TK has already agreed to try and make this work, and he's going to start spreading the word through the team. I'll talk to as many as I can while I still have therapy sessions. I don't like using the sessions like that, but the only way to make this work is if she doesn't know what we're trying to do. Fortunately, without someone in Nico's position with his kind of knowledge, she won't have immediate notice when money starts moving around and agents stop talking, but she'll figure it out sooner or later. We need to be ready before then."

Matt let out a breath. "Okay, fine. Say you get the money. She'll never sell it to a team."

"Nico said he'd draw up papers to incorporate the players, creating a company to make the overture to Mrs. Pittman."

"He can do that?" Matt shook his head. "What am I saying? It's Nico. Of course he can."

"Don't worry about the financial side. That's all Nico. He's good at that stuff. I'll need your help convincing the players—and keeping this from Mrs. Pittman. Especially about Nico helping out. That's not something that can be common knowledge. I know. TK knows. You know. That's it. Trust me, Mrs. Pittman did _not _take his resignation kindly. She'll wreck this for the same reason everyone's kind of ticked at Nico. It fell apart without him. He made this place work, and she couldn't keep him here. She'll do anything to spite him at this point."

"You said Nico was in some kind of personal crisis. You sure we should trust the future of the team to him right now? You did say not to mention it, but a lot of people are going to have a hard time accepting his help with this because he left us in a time of need."

Dani took a deep breath. She was not going to tell him what the crisis was, no matter how many people had doubts. "What have we really got to lose? Almost all of us are out of our jobs right now."

"Okay, I'm in. I just hope Nico knows what he's doing."

* * *

><p>Dani had just closed her eyes to get some sleep when her phone went off. She put her pillow over her head and tried not to scream in frustration. The euphoria of the idea that Nico had come up with had carried her for a few hours, letting her forget how late it was and how tired she was and how TK should not have been around her son, but that was gone now, and all she wanted was some sleep.<p>

She grabbed her phone angrily. "What?"

"You didn't have to answer. This was just my way of leaving you the number."

She sat up. "Nico. Do you ever sleep?"

He laughed a little. "Contrary to popular belief, I _am _human. I never cloned myself or got cybernetic implants so that I could keep going like the Energizer bunny."

She fell over on her side, curling up as she laughed. "I have got to be dreaming. Or hallucinating from lack of sleep because there's no way that you just said that. Who are you and what have you done with Nico?"

"I have been unemployed since I left the Hawks. No duties keeping me out at all hours, no phone ringing constantly—"

"And so you totally cracked because you're a complete control freak and can't handle it when you don't have something to fix."

"I think you need to sleep."

She nodded, yawning. "Yes. I do. But I missed talking to you. You're not allowed to throw your phone away again. Oh, I should tell you that I already got TK and Matt on board with the plan."

"You work fast."

"The faster the better, right?"

"Yes. I've sent out some inquiries. I believe I can get a low end offer to be made shortly."

"You work fast, too."

"My contacts were overseas. I didn't wake anyone up to drag them into this insanity."

"Nico, this is your brilliant plan, remember?" she asked, frowning. If Nico didn't think this would work, why had he suggested it? Why was he trying to make it work? Why even bother if it was such a crazy idea? Did Dani's words about sticking it to Mrs. Pittman have that much appeal? "You do think it can be done, right?"

"I no longer have access to the financial status of the players on the team, so I have no idea where the combined total would actually be enough to purchase the Hawks. It might not be, even with the salaries and endorsements," Nico warned.

She rubbed her forehead. That was right. He was out of the loop these days. She would have thought he'd leave himself some kind of backdoor into it, but then maybe that was too much. Nico _had _severed all ties with the Hawks. If she hadn't remembered that little tidbit about his past, she'd never have found him. "I think I can get you the information you need."

"Don't go digging. Something like that will make her suspicious, and now that Xeno has quit, she'll be looking to get a new head of security, one more like me."

Dani frowned. "Nico, why do I suddenly get the feeling that you putting Xeno in charge when you stepped down was a strategic move?"

"Get some sleep, Dr. Santino."

She glared at the phone as it beeped to say the call was disconnected. She didn't know if that was his natural evasion or if she was getting played. If Nico _had _decided to get his revenge on Mrs. Pittman, then Dani almost felt sorry for her. She had no doubts that Nico could make the woman's life extremely difficult, and that would just be the beginning.


	3. New Player

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,267  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: This story... it's just very fun to do. :) The situation, the characters, it's just been a blast. Now if only Jeanette was around...

* * *

><p><strong>New Player<strong>

"Yes, I understand they think they're making a 'generous' offer. What they don't seem to understand is that I don't agree with their idea of 'generous,'" Mrs. Pittman snapped as she walked through the hall. She snapped her fingers and the man behind her rushed after her, trying to keep up.

Dani made a face as she waited for the woman to pass. She crossed the hall and went into Matt's office. She closed the door with a smile. "It's working."

Matt looked up at her, confusion on his face. He looked exhausted. "What is?"

"The plan."

"Oh, that," Matt said. He let out a breath. She watched him with a frown. He should be more excited by this—she was, and she had less than a week before she was no longer employed by the Hawks. Maybe that made her desperate, maybe it gave her too much of a reason to hold onto Nico's idea like it was the cure for cancer. Still, if Laz had been a cancer—then Mrs. Pittman was more like Ebola. "You know, I really hope that Nico manages to come through with this because he certainly managed to screw us over with everything else."

"Matt—"

"Look, you've been working from home lately, so you probably haven't met the new pit bull that she hired in Nico's place, but he is making everyone's life _hell _lately."

Dani winced. "I'm sorry. Nico warned me that she would do it, but I hadn't realized it would happen so fast."

"Nico warned you. And you didn't see fit to pass along this warning?"

"Matt, what am I? Omniscient? Omnipresent? I can't be everywhere at once—and no comments about how Nico seems to manage that," Dani warned, holding up a finger. "Xeno quit two days ago. Did I expect her to replace him so quickly? No. Besides, when Nico gave me that warning, I was almost asleep. I didn't really think about it until now. I have been going almost nonstop since I talked to Nico. I had sessions with half the team in the last two days."

"I'm sorry," Matt said. He ran a hand over his face. "The pit bull has been on me, making my job and my life miserable for the past two days. I don't know—maybe she's got it in her head if he keeps harassing me, I'll take her side. I've been firm. The players can't play like this. They can't _practice _like this. We're supposed to leave for spring training soon, but no one's going to go at this rate."

"I thought there was a pit bull now. He might not be a sheep dog, but I bet he could herd them there. I haven't met him yet, but I'd bet anyone hired to replace Nico wouldn't be half as understanding or generous as he has been, and most people live in fear of him."

Matt nodded. "I'd go with that. I'd even say that she went and found someone ten times worse. I'm due another visit from the creep any minute now. You should go."

"I know. I'm just here—at the stadium—to get the last few of my things from the office they let me use. I'll be working almost entirely from home. Feel free to come by and see me, though."

"That an invitation?"

"At least if it is, it will no longer be an issue within this workplace," a voice said from the doorway. Dani looked over. Her first look at the pit bull. She had to admit—the description fit. His face had frown lines that made a pit bull look happy. He was shorter than Matt, barely taller than Dani, and the brown coat that he wore looked like he'd stuffed it, only she doubted that was anything other than his own muscle. He reminded her of those old fighters in the movies, the ones who were never someone themselves but who hung around the ring, teaching the new guys the ropes. "I'm here to escort you out, Ms. Santino."

Dani forced a smile. "Great. Let me just get my things."

* * *

><p>"What do you know about this guy, Nico?"<p>

"Stay clear of him." Nico ordered, shifting papers around the table he was using as a temporary desk and stacking them into a pile as he reached for a file folder. He had switched residences after his resignation, knowing that he would have several unwanted visitors if he stayed, and he'd changed it a second time after Santino had managed to find him. He knew that one of Duggan's tasks would be to locate him, and the man was good at what he did.

"That doesn't tell me what you know."

"It's enough, Dr. Santino. Stay clear of that man, do you hear me?" Nico asked, hoping that he was getting through to her. She was in a dangerous position, and Nico did not like it. Duggan had replaced nearly everyone on the security staff immediately after he got hired. Nico's network was scattered, and he had very few people he could trust and no one to watch out for the people taking all the risks. "He has a nasty reputation as an enforcer, was rumored to have fixed several fights and even made a few fighters disappear when they refused to take the fall."

"You make people disappear."

"With money," Nico disagreed. He was not in the same category as that man, nor had he ever been. Santino might not approve of his methods, but they were not nearly as nefarious as she thought. "Duggan makes them disappear permanently."

"How worried should the team be, realistically?"

Very worried. Nico was not about to tell her everything he knew, but he wanted her to be cautious. She could be entirely too reckless with her own safety. "Early in his career, he earned himself the nickname 'Never.'"

"Never?" she asked. He gave her a moment, certain she would catch on quickly enough. She was a very intelligent woman. "Oh. Never Duggan. Like _Never Do It Again_, right?"

"Yes. And trust me, no one ever did," Nico told her. He got up and crossed the room. "I know that you have been working with the players to organize them into buying the team, but you need to stop. Do nothing further. I'm already the enemy. Let it all fall on me. I'll be in contact with the players to continue the process."

"I can't do that, Nico. You've always been the behind-the-scenes guy. You need to stay that way. We need you to be the ace up our sleeve."

"You and the team have already been hurt enough by my absence."

"Fine, I'll put it differently. Given what you said the night we met, I am not sure you're prepared to go head-to-head with Mrs. Pittman yet," Santino said, and Nico stopped before he reached the kitchen. "That silence says it all, Nico. You know it, and I know it, and I'm sorry. She's already fired me. It can't get worse."

"If Duggan is involved, rest assured that it can."

"Then give her another face to put to it. Corporations have lawyers. I assume you had that part figured out already, didn't you? You do _have _a lawyer who is going to represent the team when they make their bid, right? I know you've got the overseas lawyers making offers, so... what about the in-house one?"

Nico smiled slightly. Her grasp of the things he was arranging was more than he'd expected and yet not anywhere near the whole picture. "She'll have a name when I have the confirmation I need. Trust me, you do not need to do more."

"Nico—"

"You're going to have to trust me, Dr. Santino," he said, hanging up. He grabbed his coat and left the apartment.

* * *

><p>TK opened the door to his kingdom and stepped inside tiredly. He'd never figured he'd be the one taking charge of the team, getting the guys together to do <em>anything. <em>He was used to being the one who stirred _up _the team, who got them riled and divided, not the one they turned to for a leader. That was supposed to be the quarterback's job.

He turned on the light and dropped his keys on the counter, going to the fridge to grab himself a beer and heading toward his couch.

"Hello, Terrence."

TK jumped, dropping his beer. The bottle shattered on the floor. "Damn it, Nico! What the hell?"

"You are aware that now that Duggan is in charge of security, you are watched whenever you are not in your home, are you not? There was no possibility of approaching you anywhere else."

"So... you broke in? You scared the hell out of me."

"Calling you was also not an option. I could give you no advance notice," Nico told him, adjusting his position on the couch. "You'll forgive me if I keep myself where the watchers will not see even my shadow."

"Damn, you _look _like a shadow, Nico. The hell happened to you?"

"Were I to have made this visit to your home wearing the same clothes as I did before my resignation, I would be entirely too recognizable. This way I am not."

"Sure, tell yourself that it's all part of your big plan. Doctor D said you were dealing with some personal crap. I thought she was full of it before, but now that I've seen you, dog, I think... She wasn't."

"Enough about me. Santino tells me that you have been talking to the other members of the team. I need to know how many of them are on board and how willing they are to commit. In other words, how much money they can contribute."

"Always money with you."

"Not always. This situation is simple. We have the money to make the offer or we don't. Without the money, this is impossible. I can continue to cultivate foreign interest, but everyone knows that the team's value has plummeted. No one wants to be a New York Hawk. The buyers know they stand to lose most of their team. They would have to build from scratch. Some people find that appealing, but not businessmen. They're after a finished product. Always. The team no longer is one. No one else will pay what she will want."

TK nodded. He'd pretty much heard that already from Doctor D. "Basically, we're going to be the only one that wants us, but we ain't got enough. Not yet. A few of the guys, they're all in, but they're also the ones that are tied down with the wife and kids, yo. They don't got the money to mess around with. They just want to stay where they've made a life and a home."

"That's natural," Nico said, like he wasn't surprised at all. "What about the ones with more flexibility?"

"Anyone that's been helped by Doctor D, they're in. They'd follow her to hell and back. So you got me, you got Booz, and you got Bobby Caldwell. Though I have to say, I think Bobby's just trying to keep his money from his wife 'cause she's gonna get it all with that kinky shit he was up to. He made me look _tame." _

"No others?"

"Got a few on the fence, but they don't think that we can do it. They don't think that we can get the money and they're worried we'll lose it all. I gotta say—it doesn't help when they don't think they can trust the money man."

"You want guarantees? I can put the return of the money in writing for all of them. The idea was for me to be entirely behind-the-scenes, and it is Dr. Santino's position that I remain so, but things have changed with the arrival of Duggan."

"Duggan? That fu—"

"Leave Duggan to me," Nico said, rising from the couch. He started toward the door, not even noticing when he walked through the mess from the broken bottle.

"You got a plan for that? Because he's a pretty scary mo—"

"Leave Duggan to me," Nico repeated, and then he left through the front door.

Damn, TK thought, that was one scary voice. Duggan had _nothing _on Nico.

* * *

><p>"Things are getting kind of ugly," Matt began, taking the seat Dani offered him at the table in the dining room. It was a bit formal, but they weren't really doing a social visit tonight. She had a few of the players that TK said were on the fence coming over, plus TK and Matt. The kids were at their father's, and the house felt empty without them. Dani knew it wouldn't last, but she'd been glad when Matt showed up so that she wasn't alone.<p>

"With Duggan, you mean?" Dani asked, resisting the urge to go back into the kitchen and get herself some wine.

"He broke some poor kid's fingers today. One of the assistants to someone or other. He didn't even hide it. The kid was crying, and he just gave him this look, told him to see the doctor and shut up. He didn't even care."

"Well, he didn't get his nickname for nothing," Dani said. When Matt looked at her blankly, she explained. "Never Duggan? That's his nickname. Because no one ever does it again. Whatever it was."

Matt sighed. "I just feel bad for the kid. He probably had no idea what he was getting into, agreeing to be the guy's tech aide."

Dani nodded unhappily. The doorbell rang, and she went over to answer it.

"Yo, Doctor D. I brought the guys here for a party," TK said, barging in. He was followed by more than half the team, and Dani stared after them. There was not enough pizza and not enough drinks. This was crazy.

"Well, I was going to have everyone go in the dining room, but I'm not sure there's enough room," Dani began. "Okay, new plan, living room. Matt! We're moving into the living room. And I think we may need some more supplies."

"Supplies?" Matt asked, coming out of the dining room. He saw the players and his eyes got a bit wide. He nodded, moving back into the other room. Dani shut the front door behind her and went into the living room.

"So, TK says you want to talk to us about this crazy-ass idea of his."

"Okay, yes, almost," she agreed, going into the middle of the room and forcing a smile for the group, "only it's not TK's crazy-ass idea—"

"It's mine."

Dani almost jumped out of her skin. She whirled and stared at Nico in surprise. What the hell was he doing here? And how had he gotten in? He should not be here. This was exactly what they were trying to avoid. He stood in the doorway, looking more like his old self—dark suit, dark coat—but she didn't understand what he thought he was doing.

"Nico?" Matt asked, coming up to him. Nico let him pass into the room but did not move. "Damn. Long time no see."

"I highly doubt anyone is that hungry," Nico observed, looking at the pizzas in Matt's hands. "And the living room has too many windows. It's problematic."

" Problematic? Nico, you shouldn't even _be _here. The whole idea was for you to be the man behind-the-scenes, the one behind the curtain."

"Yes, and pay no attention to me," he said, reaching into his coat. He took out some papers and threw them to TK. "Those are the clauses that I mentioned before. Everyone's money will be fully refunded if the purchase is not made."

"That's great," Alvarez said, getting to his feet. "But why the hell should we trust you? You walked away and left us."

"Because no one knows more about Pittman and his wife and how to outmaneuver them both than me," Nico answered calmly. "It is your choice. There is no reason that you have to be involved."

"What about Duggan? He broke a kid's hand today."

"Yes," Nico agreed. "William Decke. The fracture was clean. He should recover just fine."

"You know about that? And what, you let it _happen?"_

"Duggan broke three fingers. Try and figure out what three things I took from him," Nico said with a smile, turning to leave. Dani rushed after him, barely catching him by the arm.

"What do you think you're doing? You're risking everything. And now you're... what, playing games with Duggan after you told me so many times to stay away from him? Nico, listen to yourself. You're acting crazy and reckless and this isn't like you. You need to stop before you get yourself hurt. I know you think that you should be the fall guy if something goes wrong, but—"

He put his fingers over her lips. "You asked me to come back. Trust me to play this the way it has to be played—or forget about it."

He let go, and she tried to figure out when they'd gone from her holding his arm to him holding her. She had no choice but to call after him. "Nico, just because you think you have nothing left to lose doesn't mean you do."

He turned to look at her. "You know the thing about poker, Dr. Santino? Most of it is all one big bluff."

* * *

><p>"I'm going to kill him."<p>

"It's Nico," Matt reminded her. "Try not to take it so personally. You have to admit, he put on one hell of a show. And he won them over. You saw that. They all signed the papers and committed themselves to this thing."

"The big N, I think he figured it out," TK began. Dani and Matt looked over at him. "I told him they were having trouble trusting the money man. All he needed to do was give them someone to trust, like you said. We all know him. We know what he can do. None of us know why he left, but we want to trust him because he's come through for all of us in the past."

"And if word of his involvement gets back to Mrs. Pittman, the whole thing could be over before it starts."

"The guys aren't gonna snitch. Every one of us would rather have Nico back than do anything to help Super Bitch," TK insisted. "Trust us, Doctor D. It's all good."

"Besides, it's Nico. I'm sure he has like... three back up plans that he's not telling anyone about," Matt said. "That's just how he is. Try to stop worrying about it, Dani. Nico knows how to take care of himself."

"And he looks a hell of a lot better than he did when I saw him," TK added. Dani frowned, not entirely reassured by that. She really didn't like the risks that Nico was taking. She also didn't know how she could do anything to stop him.


	4. New Threats

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,030  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So this one kind of changed where things were going, but... um... it works?

* * *

><p><strong>New Threats<strong>

"Here you go, Doctor D."

Dani took the paper from TK's hand and unfolded it, looking down and frowning. This wasn't—it couldn't be real. He knew better than this. There was no way she could accept this. She shook her head, tried to hand it back. "I can't take this."

"Yes, you can," he insisted, closing her hand around the check. "You need this."

She shook her head again. "No, TK. I can't accept that."

"Look, Doc, it ain't no secret that you got fired. We all know. And we all know you got bills to pay. We know that you're taking care of us on your own dime. The Hawks aren't paying you anymore. You gotta pay for your house and feed your kids. I'm still your patient. I should pay."

"You need your money to buy the team."

"But that's not going to happen right away. You need to take this for your house payment. It's due before we'll get the team, so you need it. Now. Just take it, please. I talked it over with Nico. He told me it wasn't a big enough amount to keep us from buying the team."

Dani looked up from the check. That wasn't a big amount? It seemed big enough to her. "Wait. When did you talk to Nico?"

TK laughed. "I got another late night visit. He's freaking creepy, you know, when he does that. But I was able to give him good news—got three more guys on our side, and we should be glad because one of them just got Nike, so he's in the money."

"That's great news, Terrence, but I don't think I can—"

"Take it. You need it. Nico said it would be enough," TK told her, and Dani frowned again. She didn't want to know how Nico knew how much she needed for her house payment or that he'd shared that with TK. "It's totally bugging you that I've seen him and you haven't, isn't it?"

She made a face. "I had five players in my office today telling me how Duggan lost it when his car wasn't where he thought he parked it. I am concerned about the environment of fear that surrounds the team right now—Why are you laughing?"

"Dude, Doc, that was totally Nico. He moved the guy's car two spots over and totally messed with his head. The tech guy couldn't even find where he'd done it on the tapes, but we all know that he did. It's just little things. Screws with the pit bull's head, though."

Dani rubbed her forehead. She had another TK headache, but it wasn't only TK's fault. "Nico is insane."

TK grinned. "And it's great."

* * *

><p>"You know she's not going to be happy that you're spying on her, right?" Ray Jay asked as Dani watched her daughter with a new boy. Something didn't quite feel right about it after the ones she'd met before—if she didn't know better, she'd say the kid wasn't Lindsay's type, but he had her laughing, so Dani had to be overreacting somehow.<p>

"I'm not spying," she began defensively. "I'm just—"

"Spying, Mom. It's spying."

She wanted to deny it, but she couldn't really find the words, so she didn't try again. She was worried about Lindsay—she always would. It seemed like this was too soon after the boy who had cheated on her. She was probably going to end up hurt worse than before, and Dani didn't want to see that happen. "I never met him before."

"He's not a senior."

"He looks like a body builder. He's huge. There's no way that he's only fifteen years old," Dani said, frowning uneasily. The boy did _seem _sweet, a teddy bear despite his size, and he was actually trying to keep Lindsay focused on her homework, which was no small feat.

"Some guys get big, you know. They end up having their growth spurt all the way to their adult size and then stop instead of getting another one in their early twenties," Ray Jay reminded her, and Dani narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. He'd been in her books again, hadn't he?

"Let me guess. The size doesn't matter book?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. At least he's not cheating on her and doesn't have purple hair and piercings, right?"

Dani sighed. She supposed she'd never feel right about anyone dating her daughter. Her little girl. Then again, she'd actually liked the one that cheated on Lindsay, more the fool her.

"How's the whole buying the team thing going?"

Dani turned to her son and folded her arms over her chest. "Exactly what has TK told you?"

"Hey, it's not like I told anyone," Ray Jay objected. "TK told me it was a secret—and I swear that he only told me because I wouldn't stop bugging him about the trade he was going to take. He finally said that if this plan you and that guy Nico had worked that he wouldn't be going anywhere and that he'd be his own boss."

"Not quite. TK would only own part of the team, and I think a few of the other players would be investing more and have more 'shares,' as it were, though no one has a controlling interest—and all of that just went over your head, didn't it?"

"Not all of it. He's not the boss. No one is."

Someone was going to have to be, actually. They'd have to have one spokesperson who had the final say. The players were probably used to the coach being that person, but Dani was pretty sure that Parnell would want no part of it—and the players mostly agreed that they wanted him back. Parnell wouldn't want that, though. They'd have to find someone or hire someone to fill that role. Maybe a former player with good business sense? Nico would know who would be best for the job. Briefly, Dani thought about him in that role, but he wouldn't agree to that, either. He preferred working behind-the-scenes, fixing things. He wouldn't want to be in any other role.

"Yeah," Dani agreed. She dug out her phone and sent off a text to Nico. He might not be answering her calls, but maybe he'd have an answer for that one.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Mattie D," TK called as he walked up to him, clapping him on the back. "Practice went well today, don't you think?"<p>

The trainer gave him a dark look. "What about that went well? Half the equipment is missing, and someone toilet papered our field. We spent the entire time cleaning it up and didn't get any practice done. I don't know why you're smiling. Duggan was yelling at you the whole time."

"'Cause this just proves that what he calls security is crap," TK said, smiling. The other man shook his head. TK had to admit—the trainer had become one giant drag since this whole thing started. He was always worried about something. Duggan finding out. Duggan hurting one of the players. Duggan yelling. Maybe Mattie was just plain old scared. "Come on, dog. Someone TP'd the yard. If you think about it, it's funny as hell."

Mattie D grabbed TK's arm. "What is wrong with you? Why would vandalism be funny?"

TK looked at him. Was the other man kidding? What part of TP wasn't funny? Well, not when he started missing catches because he missed a toilet paper roll, but he hadn't told anyone besides Doctor D about that. It didn't matter. What did matter was that only one person could really have gotten past all of Duggan's thugs and done it, but Nico was the _last _person anyone would have suspected of TP-ing a field. "Because it pissed off Duggan, that's why."

"He's going to get pushed too far, you do realize that, right, TK?"

"So?" TK asked. "Let him go over that damn edge. Sooner he's out of here the better."

"The sooner _who _is out of here the better?" a cold voice demanded from behind him, and Mattie shook his head as TK turned to face Duggan with a huge smile. The pit bull looked pretty damn pissed, but TK still wasn't worried. His money was on Nico. Even when he'd looked like shit, the dark man had something going there that made him the scarier one. Besides, Duggan had to have some poor kid follow him around and use all the toys—the phone, the iPad, the laptop—for him, but Nico understood all that tech crap, too. He had that going for him, and he'd already proved that he could be one hell of a sneaky bastard with some really messed up ideas about how he fought the war with Duggan.

He even seemed to have a sense of humor about the whole thing, and that was _awesome. _TK loved it. He was enjoying every minute of it. He didn't care how loud Duggan yelled or how much he tried to threaten them. It was too much fun watching Nico piss him off.

"Oh, you know, Shane Givens," TK answered with a shrug. He really didn't have a beef with the Crunchberry anymore, but Duggan probably didn't know that. "I hear he's going to get traded to Dallas. Hey, maybe he'll get together with Denise again."

Mattie D groaned. TK just smiled. Duggan looked annoyed. "You know, now that the field is clear, you should run some laps around it. Say a hundred, to start with."

"Hey," Mattie D objected immediately. "I'm the trainer. I assign the laps if they're needed. Or the coach does."

"Then assign them," Duggan ordered. Mattie D shook his head.

"Doesn't matter anyway. No can do, bro," TK said. "Got an appointment with my therapist."

"The team no longer has a therapist."

"But I do. And I pay her myself, so there's nothing you can do about it," TK told him, grinning even wider as he walked away. He couldn't wait to tell Doctor D about the TP.

* * *

><p>"Ms. Santino."<p>

Dani adjusted her grip on the door handle and tried not to give into the panicked urge telling her to shut it right in his face. It was hard not to be afraid. Dani wasn't someone that intimidated easily, but she couldn't help remembering the way that Nico had sounded when she asked him about Duggan. Nico didn't show fear, didn't let much past the mask—other than that bitch—but there had been a definite thing to his tone that worried her.

"Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Duggan?"

"I want to know why my players keep coming to see you. Your services were terminated."

"By the Hawks. The players are free to see me if they so desire. There is nothing in their contracts forbidding that," she said, starting to close the door. He shoved it back so hard it went out of her hand and banged against the wall, leaving a mark. She turned back to him coldly. "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?"

"You will cease to see any players from the Hawks starting today."

"Oh, I will, will I?" she asked, taking a step forward and getting in his personal space. He was not going to intimidate her. "I don't think so. You have no right to come here to my home and attempt to tell me who I will and will not see as a patient. You will leave, now, before I call the police."

"The door is just a start, Ms. Santino. I warned you."

She smiled. "Yes, so you have. And you know the thing about bullies, Mr. Duggan? They're always the ones that are really scared. That's why they choose someone younger and smaller to pick on. But guess what? I'm not scared. I'm not even impressed. You can take your threats and fear and get off my doorstep."

"You'll be sorry you ignored my warnings."

"And you'll be sorry you ignored my free psychological advice. You'd do well to make some lifestyle changes—unless I'm mistaken and you actually like the way that all of this violence and anger has shaped your face," she told him. He glared at her. "Even though I'm a therapist and not a plastic surgeon, it's still _Doctor _Santino. Remember that the next time you think you'll try to threaten me."

She closed the door behind him; her heart racing. She forced herself to walk calmly to the kitchen. She went into the pantry and shut the door behind her before she finally gave into the tremors, wrapping her arms around her legs as she shook.

* * *

><p>"Did he hurt you?"<p>

Nico knew it wasn't going to help, his opening of the door, at least not at first, since that would start the panic all over again, but he couldn't leave it shut right now. She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, and he waited for her to recognize him and relax a bit. Though he'd intended to follow Duggan, he needed to know exactly what the other man had done first. Then he would know how to react and just how far to take the next step.

"Dr. Santino, did he hurt you?" Nico repeated, getting her to focus on him.

She managed to shake her head. "No, no, he didn't hurt me. I half-expected him to breakdown the door after I shut it, but he didn't come after me. I provoked him, but he didn't come after me. Oh, that may have been one of the stupidest things that I've ever done."

"Standing up to Duggan? That's debatable," Nico told her, offering her his hand. She took it and let him help her back onto her feet. "What did he want?"

"He told me that I couldn't keep helping the team, even if the Hawks weren't paying for it."

"He's trying to control the players. I'm sure he's looked into finding someone like Laz who will be the 'yes man' he needs and will set that person up in an office at the stadium so that the players have even less freedom."

She listened to that with disgust. "He'll spy on the team in therapy."

"That is what you thought I did."

She shook her head, rubbing her arms as she paced a little. "From what I've been hearing about Duggan, compared to him, you're a saint."

"Hardly. There's plenty of bad decisions and even blood on my hands," Nico disagreed. He was not about to let her consider him a hero in this. He didn't deserve it. Most of this was his fault to begin with. "Duggan and I... are more alike than I care to admit."

"Don't say that. Don't you dare. You can't be like him."

Nico shook his head. "You don't rule through fear without first establishing the reign of terror. You know that the team feared me. Most people who know me fear me. You came in at the end of a twenty year employment for me. The myth was well-established by then. What Duggan is doing now is establishing his own."

"But you're _not _Duggan. You actually care."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because..." She stopped and frowned at him. "Nico, why are you doing this? Trying to take away my trust in you when I'm already shaken and vulnerable? When I need to trust you the most? Damn it, I wish this was already over."

"There is a far simpler solution to all of this than what we've been doing," he reminded her. She seemed confused, though she shouldn't be. The answer had been there all along. "I could go to Gabriella, ask for my job back. She'd give it to me in a heartbeat. All of this could be undone."

"That's not an option."

"Yes, it is. You know as well as I do that part of the reason for keeping the whole thing a secret is because if the team knew that this was really about her and me that none of them would trust me with anything. I have been able to fix this from the beginning. I could have stopped it from happening in the first place."

"At what cost, Nico? I'm not exactly fond of the analogy, but you'd be selling your soul if you did, and you know it," Santino insisted. "You can't go back. We knew that before this started. You have your line in the sand, and I damn well want you to stick to it. Giving in is not an option. We have a plan, we will see it through to the end."

"No matter who gets hurt in the process?" Nico asked quietly. He had to disillusion her. The plan was by no means perfect in the first place, and Duggan was a game-changer. Nico had known that someone would be hired in his place, and Duggan had been on the short list, though if they'd been lucky, it would have been one of the others. "Duggan has no scruples. The threat was no joke. Are you prepared to risk your children for my line in the sand?"

Santino stared at him. "My children? No. No one ever said my children—"

"They were always a part of this, whether you realized it or not. I knew. Lindsay's new boyfriend was not introduced to her by chance, nor was Ray Jay's new friend. Those measures are most likely inadequate when it comes to Duggan," Nico informed her. "Are you still certain about this?"

Santino glared at him, her body tense with restrained anger. "Get. Out."


	5. New Owners

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 3,846  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So... we've covered most of the major plot points now...

* * *

><p><strong>New Owners<strong>

"So, anyway, Mom's like got this whole thing going on that's making her a total headcase, and she said something about how I shouldn't trust anyone, and she's totally freaking paranoid. It's driving me nuts. I wish that woman had never gotten the Hawks because ever since she did, Mom has been off," Lindsay said, looking over at her friend. Boyfriend. Well, she wasn't quite sure yet.

She nudged him. "Hello? Anyone home?"

He smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her. Okay, that was boyfriend territory. She could deal with that. She liked him. A lot. "Sorry. Just distracted for a moment."

"Yeah, everyone is. Like Ray Jay and TK and Mom and that new friend of Ray Jay's. They were never friends before, you know, even though they were on the same team, but now all of a sudden the biggest guy on the team is my idiot brother's best friend and goes everywhere with him."

"Maybe it's because your brother's friends with Terrence King."

"I guess," Lindsay said, leaning against him. He pulled her tighter and kissed the top of her head. She smiled. He was so sweet to her. Then he pushed her behind him, and she looked up in confusion. "Uh, Elliot?"

"It's okay, Linds, just stay behind me."

"Behind you? Why?" she asked. She grabbed hold of his arm. "Elliot, who are those men?"

"They're—I think they work for Duggan, so just stick by me, okay?"

Lindsay frowned. Who was Duggan—no wait, she knew that name, and she didn't understand. Duggan was that creep that had come by the house to scare their mom, the one she'd warned them about, but Lindsay hadn't told Elliot about that because she thought it was all paranoia. How did he know? She saw him push a button on his cell phone, and when she looked behind her, there were more men. "Elliot, they're behind us, too. What is this?"

"They're here to hurt you, Linds, but I won't let that happen, I promise," he told her. "Just stick close and we'll head for the parking lot."

"But I don't—"

"I swear, I'll explain everything later. We have to get to the parking lot," he insisted, taking her by the hand and running toward it. She didn't know why they were trying to make for the parking lot, of all places, since neither of them had a car and Ray Jay was at practice, but he seemed to know what he was doing, even if she had no idea.

An SUV pulled up, separating Lindsay and Elliot from the men. Elliot reached for the door and opened it. "Get in."

"What?" she demanded. "No. Why should I? I don't know who's driving or what's going—"

"You are entirely too much like your mother," a voice said, and Lindsay turned back to the car, staring numbly at the guy inside as Elliot pushed her up. The man helped pull her inside and motioned to the driver as Elliot jumped in and shut the door. The driver sped off, faster than most of the sophomores just getting their license drove.

She watched as the man took out his phone. "Xeno, do you have the boy? No pursuit? Good. Meet in ten for the exchange."

"Exchange?" Lindsay asked. She took a deep breath. "Okay, I am really freaked out here. Elliot, what is going on? And you—you're that creepy security guy that busted us, right? I thought you didn't work for the Hawks anymore."

"I don't," he agreed as the car slowed down. He opened the door and got out.

Lindsay turned back to Elliot, feeling tears in her eyes. "Who _are _you?"

* * *

><p>"Where do we stand?"<p>

"You sound displeased."

"Don't give me that. I know you know that Duggan went after my daughter. He would have gone after my son," Dani snapped. She was not about to be pacified right now. She shouldn't have come, only she wanted this whole thing over with. "And now Matt tells me that Duggan is harassing everyone because something went missing. Something he won't say what it is, but he's in a rage about it. He's very likely to hurt someone. I seem to recall you saying something about not letting the team become collateral damage? I guess my family doesn't matter, does it?"

"It does, or Elliot and Nick would not have been in place. As for Duggan..." Nico smiled a little. Dani wanted to smack him for it. "He should have known that none of them could possibly have done that. He's blowing hot air. This is him trying to pull his antagonist out of the woodwork, but it's too soon for that. I made sure that Lindsay was unharmed."

"Just a little disappointed to find out that the guy she thought was perfect for her was hired to protect her and probably lied to her about everything," Dani said angrily. She would not forgive Nico for messing with her kids. They were not pawns for whatever game he was playing with Duggan.

"He didn't have to lie. He is pretty much who he says he is, only with a bit of additional training and information," Nico corrected. She frowned at him. What, was he some kind of _matchmaker _now? He set Lindsay up with the perfect guy who could protect her, too? "Since you asked where we stand, it's time for you to meet someone."

"What?"

"Dr. Dani Santino, meet Caddie Stone," Nico said, turning to signal a woman to join them. Dani frowned as she walked over to them. She had the typical business suit, and she was not a model underneath it, but it bothered her that Nico was working with someone Dani had never met before. "Caddie, this is the woman really behind this effort."

"I see you go above and beyond for your patients," Stone said with a smile. "This really is unheard of, you know."

"A team buying itself? Nico's the genius behind that idea, not me," Dani disagreed. He gave her a look, and she ignored him. It didn't mean that she'd forgiven him. She hadn't. She looked the woman over. "Why do you seem familiar?"

"Oh, I only represent one of the world's largest international corporations. As a woman. Under forty—or so I'll always insist," she said with a wink. "Misdirection is the key to this game, as I understand it. I agreed to Mr. Careles' request that I represent the team's interest. My name will suggest that Mrs. Pittman is dealing with an off-shoot of my company, though that is far from the case. Still, it will allow her to think that there is more than enough money to cover any offer made to her."

"That's... great," Dani said, feeling a little overwhelmed. "Why did you agree to this?"

Stone's smile dropped. "Let's just say that Mrs. Pittman and I have... personality conflicts. I'd do almost anything to make that bitch—Never mind. I hate losing my professionalism. I've prepared all the legal documents I need, and we'll be ready to make our first round offer to Mrs. Pittman tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? That soon?"

"No sense in waiting," Stone agreed. She turned to leave, and Dani turned to Nico.

He caught her look. "You don't approve?"

"Oh, she's... good. She's impressive," Dani admitted reluctantly. She didn't want him to have gotten this far, but that was because she was still mad at him. "How the hell did you manage to pull that off?"

"She has a long-standing feud with our mutual enemy. It was easy enough to convince her to participate. In fact, it should make it that much easier to get our way."

"Why? Why would she let Stone make the offer if she wouldn't take it from you?"

"Because if she thinks she's gotten the better of Stone, she'll take it. It looks like almost pure business there. Stone attempting to get something Gabriella has, and Gabriella making sure Stone pays through the nose for it. If it were me—she knows that I actually want the Hawks' best interest. She'd do everything she could to sabotage not only the deal but the team as well because with me... it's far more personal."

Dani nodded. She thought she understood, and it made her feel for him again. "She can't manipulate your feelings or control you, so she's angry and hurting you, and she's using the team to do it because she can't get to you directly."

"Yes. She probably figured I'd come running back to her once I knew how badly the team was suffering. I almost did."

Dani touched his arm. "I meant what I said in that text. As hard as it is to see the team like this—as much as I hate the fact that Duggan has gone after my children—she doesn't get to win. She doesn't get to do this to you. _She doesn't get to win._ That's my line in the sand. That's what I want my kids to see. You don't give into bullies."

"And no negotiating with terrorists?" Nico shook his head. "It's not right to have everyone else involved in what is basically just between us. Gabriella's... a spoiled child. I never told her no before—at least not to where she knew I meant it and could not believe that I really wanted to say yes but somehow managed to restrain myself—and now that I have told her no, she's angry. She's breaking her toys in a tantrum because she can't play with the one she wants."

Dani winced. "That is a horrible analogy."

"It's true."

"That's what makes it horrible."

"You don't have to feel sorry for me. It's better if you stay angry. I created this situation when I gave into her the first time. Whatever my other loyalties, whatever my feelings for her, when I knew that my judgment was compromised, then I should have removed myself from the situation, and I didn't. That is my mistake. That is one that everyone is feeling the consequences of. So do not pity me, Dr. Santino. Just rest assured that I will make this right."

Dani tried to stop him, but before she could say much of anything, he'd disappeared into the crowded street.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to my office, gentlemen," Caddie Stone greeted the team, gesturing for them to sit down at a conference table that put the one back at the Hawks stadium to shame. "My staff has prepared some refreshments, and you will be able to watch the entire meeting on the video conferencing screen. I assure you, nothing but what you wanted will be a part of the purchase agreement. Be prepared to disregard any theatrics on my part. I have been looking forward to this for a very, very long time, and I intend to enjoy my moment."<p>

"Lady, you scary. No wonder Nico found you," TK muttered, shaking his head. The team laughed. Dani looked around the room. The mention of his name had made everyone aware of the one person who should be here that was not here. "Where is the big N anyway?"

"He said he'd be along later. He said something about not wanting to tip our hand," Caddie answered, smiling wickedly. Dani found herself almost wishing that the woman was really going to keep representing the team. They hadn't actually decided who that was.

"Wait," Dani began. "I know that Mrs. Pittman—"

"Come on, Doctor D, call her Super Bitch like everyone else does," TK interrupted, and Dani rolled her eyes. She did refer to Mrs. Pittman behind her back as "that bitch" just like everyone else did, but she wasn't going to do it here.

"—is on her way, but I don't think that anyone has actually discussed the... CEO position or whatever it would be. There's got to be one person to make decisions, right? I mean, the team can meet over important decisions, but someone has to keep the day-to-day things going without a committee decision over things like buying toilet paper."

The whole team broke out laughing, and Dani frowned. "Why is that funny?"

"The TP in the field that drove Duggan crazy?"

"Guys, please, focus," Dani said, turning back to Stone, who looked pretty much like a stone. She hadn't laughed. "Did you find someone for that? Someone for that position?"

"What about you, Doc?"

She frowned, shaking her head. "No. No, I appreciate the faith and trust, but I am a therapist. A hypnotherapist. I'm not any good with numbers or figures, and you all know I know next to nothing about football. I'd be a terrible choice. What about... the coach?"

"Me?" Parnell asked. He shook his head. "Oh, no. All I want to do is coach my team. I don't want to have to mess with finances and make business decisions and be the head of some company. A team is bad enough."

Dani nodded. She'd figured as much. "Matt?"

"Football, yeah. The physical well-being of the team, yeah," he agreed, but then he shook his head. "Not the numbers. We're going to have to hire someone for that."

"Actually, I would like that position."

Dani turned around and stared at Nico in confusion. None of them had heard him come in—_again—_but there he was. She would have sworn that was a new suit, that his hair had just been trimmed and everything about him was pure business. "You want it, Nico? Really?"

He nodded. "Temporarily, of course. I have no intention of _keeping _it. I have a few people that I have approached with the idea, but they couldn't make the transition until there was a guaranteed position."

"So... why you?" Alvarez asked. "I mean, you did get us this far, but you never did say what you did to Duggan. TP and moving cars is funny, but what did you really do for that kid that got his hand broke?"

Nico stopped to check his watch. "Caddie, she should be here by now. You'd better meet up with her."

"Damn, Nico, is that Duggan's watch?" TK asked, getting up to look at the fixer's wrist. "It _is. _That's that one he went off on that first day he was here. I didn't think he ever took it off."

"He doesn't. Or I should say, he didn't," Nico agreed. He caught Dani's look and smiled. "Don't worry, Doctor. I'll return it to him when I inform him his services are no longer required. I just needed him to know how close I could get."

"He's going to come after you, you do know that, right?"

"Let him. I've owed him since he tried to make Markus take a dive," Nico said coldly. "Caddie?"

"I don't want to miss this part of the show," she said, sighing. She went to the door. "You owe me, Careles."

Nico nodded. He went to the window and looked out. Dani got up from the table and joined him. "Must be different, not avoiding the windows."

He looked at her. "More uncomfortable, actually. If I hadn't needed to ask about the position, I would have waited longer. As much as I know that Caddie's performance will be priceless, I am having a hard time waiting. I'd like this to be over with already."

"I think we all would."

"You're supposed to be mad at me."

"When did you steal Duggan's watch?"

"Before he went after your children," Nico answered, moving away from her. Dani shook her head, then looked up as she heard voices coming from the television. Caddie had brought Mrs. Pittman into her office. The show was on.

* * *

><p>"Please, have a seat, <em>Gabby."<em>

"Don't ever call me that, _Caddie Woodlawn."_

"Oh, well, now we're even," Caddie said, reaching for the papers on her desk. She handed them across to Mrs. Pittman. "I believe you said our first offer was... lacking? I believe this figure may be more to your... tastes."

"Spare me the commentary, Caddie. You like money just as well as I do."

"Yes, but I don't make a habit of trying to steal other women's husbands for it," Caddie said, getting up from her desk and crossing to pour herself a drink. "Not that I should complain too much. You did do me a favor, at least with one of them. The other one was worth ten times my first one."

"Do you blame that on me? I always thought it was the job that split you two up. You know, that he couldn't stand to see you so successful."

Caddie laughed. "We are talking about two different men, aren't we? Have you forgotten that It was Albert first? You did, didn't you? Well, yes, I grant that Albert was always jealous of any woman's success. A true misogynist. God, I hated him. You didn't tell me what you thought of the offer."

"You are clearly trying to waste my time," Mrs. Pittman said, getting to her feet. "Reminiscing was so much fun, but I got what I wanted."

"The hell you did," Caddie said with a smile. "Getting that team still didn't get you him, did it?"

"If you're so sure of that, why did you divorce him?"

Caddie just smiled, drinking from her glass. "Oh, where are my manners? Did you want one, Gabby? I think you should have one. After all, we've barely even started negotiating here. You know I have the assets to go a lot higher."

"Then why don't you just do it?"

"Because you have to squeeze every last cent out of a stone, don't you?" Caddie asked, laughing. "I have missed you. I haven't had this much fun since your pathetic ex-husband tried to seduce me."

"Marshall? The hell he did. He was too busy loving himself to—"

"Ask Nico if you think I'm lying," Caddie interrupted. Mrs. Pittman shot her a glare that wanted to kill. Caddie ignored her. She took a sticky-note and wrote a number on it. "How's that?"

"The team is worth at least three hundred million. I won't take a cent less."

"Please. Your team is a wreck that won't ever see the play-offs again. I only want it so that I can use it as a tax write-off," Caddie scoffed, refilling her drink. "Their charity work is so... quaint."

"It's an expensive write-off."

"There's also the satisfaction of running it better than you ever could."

"You are such a bitch, Caddie."

"Three hundred million, then. Do we have a deal?"

"I have to make a profit, you know. Never sell unless you're making money," Mrs. Pittman said. "It's been such a lovely chat. But you're too cheap. You don't have the money I want—at least not that you're willing to spend."

Mrs. Pittman made it to the door and past the secretary's desk before Caddie called out to her. "Fine, damn it. How much?"

Gabriella turned with a smile and walked back into the office triumphantly. "I knew you'd see it my way. I'll take that drink now."

* * *

><p>"There. Now you have confirmation from your bank, there's one more signature for you to make, and we'll have concluded our business," Caddie's voice carried out into the hall. Loud cheering was coming from the conference room, but fortunately, that was still too far away for Gabriella to hear. "Why, thank you, Gabby. Always a pleasure doing business with you. Even if you cheat every damn step."<p>

Gabriella laughed. "You always were such a sore loser, Caddie. I think I might take a trip. Get a whole new wardrobe. You look like you could use one. A shame you just spent all your money on a worthless team."

"It won't be worthless for long," Caddie said, standing up. "I never buy anything I can't turn around, you know that. In fact, I've already hired someone who is going to put the whole team back in order."

"Please. No one can save that team. The Hawks are never going to recover."

"That's what you'd like to believe, isn't it, Gabriella?" Nico asked, walking into Caddie's office. He accepted the drink she offered him and let her kiss him on the cheek. "That way you got your money and your revenge on Marshall. Everything you wanted."

She choked, but in front of Caddie, she didn't dare use the lie about _not everything. _He smiled at her, raising the glass. "To the Hawks. Who are, incidentally, owned by the New York Hawks."

He turned on the other side of the video conferencing to the cheering players clapping each other on the back, some of them opening champagne bottles and others high-fiving. Two of the linebackers had picked up Dr. Santino and were carrying her around on their shoulders as she tried to talk them into letting her down.

Gabriella turned to him in anger. "You... You did this, didn't you? You set me up. You sabotaged me from the very beginning, didn't you?"

Nico shook his head. "I knew what you were going to do, but you did it all by yourself. I just fixed it. It's what I do."

She took the glass that Caddie had given her earlier and threw it at him. It missed, hitting the wall and shattering. "Damn you, Nico. It was supposed to be you and me. We were going to run the Hawks together."

"You were always going to run them into the ground, and I wanted no part of that," he told her. He crossed close to her. "I also want no part of you."

"And Juliette?"

"She's her own person," Nico said. He had heard that she'd stayed clean even out of rehab. He was proud of her. She was finally free of her mother and father... and so was he. "Here, Gabriella, you look like you need this more than I do."

He went to give her the drink, tipping the bottom as he did, letting it splash down the low cut front of her dress. He put the half-empty glass in her hand and checked Duggan's watch again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sadist to fire."


	6. New Order

**Under New Management**  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 2,769  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: I'm actually going to call this gen. At least... I tried to make it that way.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> up to 1x11.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own anything. I just break things.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Everything changes when the Hawks get a new owner.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: So that covers everything I wanted to do with this story. :)

* * *

><p><strong>New Order<strong>

"I believe I have something of yours," Nico began, holding Duggan's watch over his shoulder. The shorter man snarled and reached for it, trying to pull it from Nico's hand. Nico refused to let it go. "No. You want this back? We have things to discuss."

"Careles." Duggan spat his name like an insult. "I knew I should have dumped you in the river back in Pittsburgh."

"You never should have come to New York. You violated the terms of our agreement, and though I imagine I've made no small nuisance of myself to you, that is only the beginning of what we both know that I'm capable of."

"You moved my car."

"Yes.

"You took my watch."

"Yes."

"You toilet papered the field."

"Does that sound like me?"

"No, you son-of-a—"

"Don't insult my mother. She has nothing to do with this, and I'll break your arm if you do," Nico warned. Duggan glared at him. "Please. We've had this out before. I won then, and I'll win again. If you want to fight me, go ahead. But you'll never get the rest of what I took back. You won't get the peace of mind of knowing exactly which of those moments in the last few weeks was your paranoia and which were me actively messing with your head."

Duggan continued to glare. "The security system?"

"Which one?"

"All of them."

"Yes."

"The beer?"

"You don't want to know what was really in the bottles, no."

"My dog."

"The ASPCA wants to talk to you about that one."

"Cut the crap, Careles. You and I both know what this is really coming down to, and I'm not going to let you get that smug smile on your face," Duggan said, reaching out and grabbing hold of Nico's suit. Nico looked down at his hand and met his eyes. Duggan's gun was in his right jacket pocket, as Nico had suspected. "Where are the books?"

"Now those you _really _should have left in Pittsburgh. Things get lost in transit, you know."

"I am not playing games, here," Duggan warned. "You know what's in those books. And you know what I'd be willing to do to get them back."

"You hurt my team. You threatened my friends. You would have used children. You're a coward, Duggan, and I won't give you the books back. In fact, as I understand it, they have been a most fascinating read for the FBI. Threats, intimidation, rigged fights, murder... The one that would worry me the most, though is the racketeering charges. The wrong people are going to think that you talked."

"They'd get thrown out of court. Can't prove a damn thing with them."

"Do I look like a lawyer, Duggan? The mob will take care of that. Oh, and tell Spinetti hi. It's been too long."

"Don't you dare move, Careles. You were a fool, coming here in the middle of the day—sunlight supposed to scare me? I don't think so. But you came alone. I have a full team of men who obey my orders."

"Ah, but the thing about them is that they're all mercenaries. The Hawks pay their bills. And I happen to control the Hawks now," Nico said. He nodded at Duggan's look. "Yes, you can say it. That bitch sold you out. So... not only are these my employees now... I also learned the value of cultivating loyalty that was not based on money, and while you may _think _I am alone, I'm not."

Nico watched Xeno walk up behind Duggan.

"What would you like us to do to him, Mr. Careles?"

"Well, first Mr. Duggan is going to drop the gun from his pocket, and then we're going to make sure that he makes it to his meeting with the FBI," Nico answered with smile. "Duggan, the gun?"

Hate filled Duggan's eyes, but he dropped the gun on the ground. "This isn't over, Careles."

"No, I think it is."

* * *

><p>Dani barely managed to hear the doorbell over the loud party that had overtaken her house. She wasn't sure when her house became the Hawks' gathering ground, but they seemed to come here whenever they wanted to get together. The house was nowhere near big enough for the kind of party the guys wanted to have to celebrate buying the team, but none of them were willing to listen to her, and so she'd been invaded.<p>

She made her way through the crowded house and to the front door, stopping to wonder if it was the police. That might actually be a relief at this point. She took a breath and opened the door. Seeing the new arrival, she had to smile. "Nico. You're late. How does it feel to be king of the kingdom?"

"If you mean there's some advantage to the top office, it's only the ability to see just how much of a mess things really are," he said, looking tired. She frowned. Exactly what had he been up to? He looked past her into the house. "You have quite a crowd."

"Except the man who should be here because he did all the work."

"Not all of it. You, TK, and Donnally got the team on board. That was not me," Nico disagreed. "No one would ever choose me as the life of a party, besides which I have far too much left to do. I made some progress, but it's nowhere near enough."

"Right. So the progress would be...?"

"Well, to begin with, I had to fire half the security staff, put the rest on probation, restore the former security staff to their positions, fire the inadequate cleaning crew that is run by kleptomaniacs, rehire the old company that had been vetted and never caused problems before, order supplies that were badly out of stock, and reassign the offices," Nico explained. He rubbed his forehead a little. "I need to meet with Coach Parnell to resign his contract and discuss the assistant coaches because I believe at least one of them should be terminated given the behavior they all displayed during his absence—Donnally being a notable exception. He may even want to move Donnally up into one of the vacated positions. That is his decision to make, though. His coaching staff should be people he trusts."

"Yes, of course," Dani agreed. That could be good news for Matt. "It sounds like you've gotten pretty far already. You could probably use a break."

"I know that most of the team considers it a forgone conclusion that you will resume your work as the team's therapist, but I need to know that you do, in fact, wish to do so, and I have some—"

"Yes, I still want to work with the team. The guys have been great," she interrupted. She wasn't going to deal with any of the legal matters just yet. "I will come by and sign anything you want if you answer a question first. And I mean an honest answer, not an evasion."

He frowned. "What?"

"How did it feel? Standing up to her? Sticking it to her like that?"

He looked down. "While in some ways that conversation was... extremely beneficial for my self-esteem, there is a part of me that does not like hurting her—if I even managed to do so. The entire exercise was one that reminded me not only of why I do what I do but how good I am at doing it. So, yes, the answer I believe you're looking for is that my self-confidence has been restored. Even a bit of my pride. Or too much. That remains to be seen."

"I'm glad." She really was. Even though she was angry with him for what he'd done when it came to Lindsay and Ray Jay, at least he'd thought of doing _something _to protect her kids, unlike Dani, who had somehow imagined that Duggan wouldn't go after them for some inexplicable reason.

"It is also a relief to be... free of her," Nico went on. "I have no doubts that when she's recovered from this, she may make another attempt, but I do not see myself giving into her. If I could resist when she was destroying the team, then there is no reason to think I'd given in when she has less to bargain with."

"What about Juliette?"

Nico looked at her. Dani shrugged. "Yeah, I heard her ask you about Juliette. Who is Juliette?"

"Her daughter. Another weakness of mine. Also the friend you told me I was enabling."

Dani remembered that conversation. She'd been rushed, but she was glad to know that even that little bit had helped. "You think she'll try and use Juliette against you?"

"Both Gabriella and Marshall cut Juliette off. It is to her credit that she finally turned her life around, and she has followed her program despite leaving rehab. However, I know her mother to be a poor influence on her—Gabriella has many of the same problems—and I would appreciate it if you would consider working with her. I did tell her to contact you."

Though her schedule was already rather full with the team, she knew she no longer had to worry about anyone Marshall Pittman would send her way with demands to "fix," and helping Juliette would help Nico _and _stick it to that bitch. "I'd like to see her."

"Thank you."

"Nico, why are you here?" Dani couldn't help asking him. He frowned at her. "Well, by your own admission, you're not here to party. I can't sign any papers right now because I can't think straight, and I know you didn't come to answer my questions about how it went, so... why?"

"There are still some things that I need to—"

"Nico! What is up, dog? Look who it is, guys! The man of the hour! Late to the big party, but that's okay, we'll fix that," TK said, coming up and pushing past Dani as he greeted Nico with a hug that Dani swore made Nico flinch. Before she could call him on it, though, more of the team had pushed past her and surrounded Nico, the linebackers moving him inside despite his objections.

Dani followed them, closing the door behind her. She wished she'd been able to get that answer from Nico, though. She wanted to know why he'd come. She would have expected him to stay as far away from the party as he could.

* * *

><p>"Enough," Nico finally raised his voice to be heard over the entire team that seemed to be around him. They stared at him in confusion, shock, and even a bit of fear. He was used to that. "You do not need to congratulate me, and I think we'd all agree that I am not a party person. So, rather than let me ruin your evening, I will give you one more reason to celebrate, and then I'm going to go."<p>

"What? You can't leave, Nico," TK immediately protested. "The night is young, the party just got started—though Doctor D said we needed to move on if we wanted alcohol and women—but you can't go. You're the man who did it all."

"No. I had an idea that other people went along with. TK and Doctor Santino did most of the work. You all had to come together and agree to it. In the end, my efforts were minimal, and they really only offset what started when I left."

"Dude, take the compliment already," TK said, shaking him. Nico looked at his hands and then at his face.

"Terrence, remove your hand from my arm, or I will do it for you," he ordered, and TK lifted his hands, holding them up in apology. "Thank you. Now if you will excuse me—Right, before I go. You will all be pleased to know that Duggan has been... forcibly removed from the Hawks property and will not set foot there again. As I understand it, the federal authorities are _very _interested in his activities."

"All right, Nico!" TK cheered, leading the rest of the team in a new round of celebration. More hugs and high fives went through the group.

While they were still preoccupied, Nico slipped away, circling around to get to the stairs. He walked up and stopped at the door. He should knock, but he did not want to waste time. He opened the door, and the figure on the bed did not look up.

"Go away, Ray Jay. I already told you that I didn't want to party."

"That is your choice. I've never been fond of parties, either," Nico told her, and this time she sat up. Her hair was a mess, and she'd definitely been crying. She brushed off her cheek and glared at him.

"I don't know what you think you're doing here, creep, but you can get the hell out. Now."

"I will leave, but not until I've said what I came to say. You are free to disregard it, but you can make that judgment after I finish," Nico said, and she frowned but refrained from further hysterics. "You believe that I hired Elliot, that everything you knew of him was a lie."

"It is!"

Nico shook his head. He took out a piece of paper and set it next to her. "This is Elliot's transcript from before I arranged for him to switch schools. If you note the marks and comments under his grades, you'll see what I did."

"He was in high level classes. What was he doing in my math class?"

"You were failing, weren't you?" Nico asked. She didn't answer. "What I found in Elliot was a strong body and a sharp mind. I asked him to get close to you, yes. As your tutor, nothing more. There was enough security around you when you were at home, but you'd been assigned mandatory tutoring sessions. Rather than get an adult that you would never accept, I asked Elliot to do it. He was additional security for those tutoring hours _only. _Whatever friendship developed from that—although based partially on a lie of omission—had nothing to do with me or Duggan and everything to do with who you are and who he is."

She picked up the transcript and frowned, not sure if she believed what Nico had said. He pointed to the paper. "That's information even I shouldn't have. You should get rid of it."

Nico left the room, closing the door behind him. He put his hand on the stairwell started to descend again. The party was still in full force, but somehow in the middle of it, he heard Santino's voice. "So... that's what you came to do? To tell my daughter it wasn't all a lie?"

He took the last step, now on the ground floor, and turned to look at the doctor. "An attempt to fix some of the collateral damage, yes. She was never meant to find out like that—the need for additional protection was never supposed to last as long as it did. I _did_ not and _would_ not hire anyone to pretend to love your daughter."

Santino smiled as she came down the rest of the stairs. "And why weren't you reassuring my son about his new friendship?"

"Because he never developed romantic feelings for Nick. In fact, they still hate each other, but they're on the same football team, so they have a bond that I don't think I'll ever understand, nor do I want to," Nico answered. He looked at his watch—his own, this time. Though he'd considered keeping Duggan's, he wanted the man to have that reminder of how close Nico had gotten and what he could have done. "I have to go. There's still a lot for me to do."

Santino stepped forward and hugged him, and Nico tried to extract himself, but he did not get away before she kissed his cheek. "You are a far better man than you want to admit, Nico Careles."


End file.
